Title 12

When original papers in civil actions have been lost, mislaid, destroyed or mutilated, a court may cause a substitution thereof to be made by directing the attorneys representing the parties therein to file a copy thereof with the clerk or register of the court. (Code 1896, §2645…

If the action or proceeding in which the substitution of a lost, mislaid, destroyed or mutilated original paper is proposed is pending and undetermined, the substitution must be made on notice of not less than one day to the adverse party or his attorney of record, if he has such…

If, after the determination of any civil action or proceeding, the original papers, or any part thereof pertaining thereto, which are not of record are lost, mislaid, destroyed or mutilated, if the record of such papers with such papers should be lost, mislaid, destroyed or mutil…

If the record of a deed, contract, conveyance or other instrument, the record of which is by law required or authorized, is lost, mislaid, destroyed or mutilated, the original of such deed, contract, conveyance or instrument may be recorded again, and such record shall have relat…

From any order of a circuit or district court or probate court granting or refusing substitution under this article, an appeal lies to the appropriate appellate court as from final judgments or decrees in civil cases. From an order of a district court, an appeal to the circuit co…

If the records of an appellate court, or any part thereof, are lost, mislaid, destroyed or mutilated, the same may be substituted under such rules and regulations as the court may prescribe. (Code 1886, §660; Code 1896, §2653; Code 1907, §5745; Code 1923, §10138; Code 1940, T. 7,…

The circuit courts of this state shall have jurisdiction of an action by the state, a county or municipality or any citizen who will give security for the costs of the proceeding to establish or restore any lost, mislaid, destroyed or mutilated records of the state, county or mun…

(a) The court may, on motion and due notice thereof, require the parties to produce books, documents or writings in their possession, custody, control or power which contain evidence pertinent to the issues. (b) If the plaintiff or prosecution fails to comply with such order, the…

The mode or manner of authenticating or proving any documents or records provided for in this division shall not be held to be exclusive or restrictive, but shall be additional or cumulative modes or manners of authentication or proof of such records and documents. (Code 1923, §7…

A judgment is admissible between any parties to show the fact of the entry or rendition thereof; between parties and privies thereto it is conclusive as to the matter directly in issue until reversed or set aside. (Code 1907, §4002; Code 1923, §7700; Code 1940, T. 7, §412.)

Registers of marriages, births and deaths, kept in pursuance of law or any rule of a church or religious society may be certified by the custodian thereof and, when so certified, are presumptive evidence of the facts therein stated as well as of the law or rule in pursuance of wh…

Copies of letters testamentary and of administration and guardianship shall be primary evidence of the fact of administration and guardianship to the same extent as the original letters, provided such copies of letters are duly certified from the proper record of the proper offic…

Whenever the records of a county or of any court or office, or any part thereof, shall be transcribed in pursuance of law, the copy or transcribed record shall be evidence and shall prima facie have the same force and effect as the original from which the transcript was made. (Co…

Copies of official bonds or other instruments or papers, required to be kept by any officer of this state and transcripts from the books and proceedings required to be kept by any sworn officer of the state are presumptive evidence in any case and have the same effect as if the o…

The certificate of a notary public under his hand and seal of office or of any other authorized person under his hand and seal of the presentment for acceptance or demand of payment or protest for nonacceptance or nonpayment of any instrument governed by the commercial law or of …

The official entry of the proper officer on a paper shall be sufficient evidence of its registry. (Code 1907, §3999; Code 1923, §7697; Code 1940, T. 7, §409.)

If the original of any paper properly registered is lost or destroyed, a certified copy from the registry shall be deemed good secondary evidence. (Code 1907, §4000; Code 1923, §7698; Code 1940, T. 7, §410.)

Historical works, books of science or art and published maps or charts, when made by persons indifferent between the parties, are prima facie evidence of facts of general notoriety and interest. (Code 1923, §7720; Code 1940, T. 7, §413.)

All receipts, releases and discharges in writing, whether of a debt of record, a contract under seal or otherwise, and all judgments entered pursuant to pro tanto settlements, must have effect according to their terms and the intentions of the parties thereto. (Code 1852, §2282; …

Any provision of this division regulating the admissibility or proof of facts in any proceeding shall apply only if the admissibility or proof of such facts is not governed by the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, or any other rule of practice as may be adopted by the Supreme Cou…

Receipts for money are always only prima facie evidence of payment and may be denied or explained by parol evidence. (Code 1907, §3964; Code 1923, §7660; Code 1940, T. 7, §372.)

In all actions upon accounts, an itemized statement of the account, verified by the affidavit of a competent witness, taken before and certified by, a notary public or any officer having authority under the laws of this or another state to take and certify affidavits, is competen…

Every written contract, the foundation of the action, purporting to be executed by the party sought to be charged, his partner, agent or attorney-in-fact, is evidence of the existence of the debt or that the party undertook to perform the duty for which it was given and that it w…

Price current and commercial lists, printed at any commercial mart, are presumptive evidence of the value of any article of merchandise specified therein, at that place, at the date thereof and of the rate of exchange between that and other places, also of the rates of insurance,…

Direct testimony as to the market value is in the nature of opinion evidence; one need not be an expert or dealer in the article, but may testify as to value if he has had an opportunity for forming a correct opinion. (Code 1907, §3960; Code 1923, §7656; Code 1940, T. 7, §367.)

(a) In all civil actions brought in any court of the State of Alabama, proof by substantial evidence shall be required to submit an issue of fact to the trier of the facts. Proof by substantial evidence shall be required for purposes of testing the sufficiency of the evidence to …

Physical evidence connected with or collected in the investigation of a crime shall not be excluded from consideration by a jury or court due to a failure to prove the chain of custody of the evidence. Whenever a witness in a criminal trial identifies a physical piece of evidence…

Interpreters may be sworn to interpret truly, when necessary, and must be paid as witnesses in the case. (Code 1852, §2275; Code 1867, §2679; Code 1876, §3034; Code 1886, §2764; Code 1896, §1793; Code 1907, §4010; Code 1923, §7724; Code 1940, T. 7, §436.)

(a) Deaf person means any person either totally deaf, or who has defective hearing, or who has both defective hearing and speech. (b) For the purpose of this section, the term qualified interpreter means an interpreter certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the De…

The presiding judge before whose court a case involving such handicapped person or persons described in Section 12-21-131, when requested to do so as provided in Section 12-21-133, must furnish said interpreter from a roster of interpreters kept by the Clerk of the Alabama Suprem…

It shall be the duty of any handicapped person described in Section 12-21-131 who desires the services of an interpreter as provided in Section 12-21-131, or his or her attorney of record to make known in writing to the presiding judge before whom such case is to be tried or hear…

The compensation of any interpreter who is called upon for service in any legal litigation as described in Section 12-21-131 shall be fixed at $15.00 for each day while on active call by the presiding judge, together with actual expenses incurred by said interpreter while on acti…

All testimony, except as otherwise directed, must be given in open court on the oath or affirmation of the witness. (Code 1852, §2301; Code 1867, §2703; Code 1876, §3057; Code 1886, §2763; Code 1896, §1792; Code 1907, §3958; Code 1923, §7654; Code 1940, T. 7, §363.)

(a) This section shall be known as the “Alabama Armed Services Accommodation Act.” (b) The Legislature finds it to be an important matter of public policy that an accommodation be made for military members who are asked to testify in civil or criminal trials in this state but are…

The sanction of an oath, or affirmation equivalent thereto, is necessary to the reception of any oral testimony. The court may frame such affirmation according to the religious faith of the witness. (Code 1907, §3959; Code 1923, §7655; Code 1940, T. 7, §364.)

The right of cross-examination, thorough and sifting, belongs to every party as to the witnesses called against him. If several parties to the same case have distinct interests, each may exercise this right. (Code 1907, §4017; Code 1923, §7731; Code 1940, T. 7, §443.)

Leading questions are generally allowed in cross-examinations and only in these, but the court may exercise a discretion in granting the right to the party calling the witness and in refusing it to the opposite party when, from the conduct of the witness or other reason, justice …

In the examination of witnesses and the introduction of evidence, it shall not be necessary to state or disclose to the court the substance of the anticipated answer of the witness or of the evidence sought to be introduced by the question in order to put the court in error in it…

Where there is an objection to a question propounded to a witness in the trial of any case and the objection is overruled, it shall not be necessary to make a motion to exclude the answer of the witness in order to put the court in error on its ruling on such objection. (Acts 192…

It is the right of a witness to be protected from improper questions and from harsh or insulting demeanor. (Code 1907, §4016; Code 1923, §7730; Code 1940, T. 7, §442.)

No person engaged in, connected with or employed on any newspaper, radio broadcasting station or television station, while engaged in a news-gathering capacity, shall be compelled to disclose in any legal proceeding or trial, before any court or before a grand jury of any court, …

(a) Any witness refusing to testify, unless privileged by law from testifying in the case, must be committed to the jail of the county, there to remain without bail until he consents to testify. (b) No witness so imprisoned shall be discharged at the adjournment of the court, or …

The costs of any deposition introduced, in whole or in part, into evidence at the trial by the party taking it shall be taxed as costs in the case upon the certificate of the person before whom the deposition was taken; the costs of depositions in other cases shall be taxed as co…

Any provision of this division regulating the admissibility or proof of facts in any proceeding shall apply only if the admissibility or proof of such facts is not governed by the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, or any other rule of practice as may be adopted by the Supreme Cou…

(a) For the purpose of the use of deposition testimony in any court proceeding in any civil action, the term “physician” as used in the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure or otherwise shall include any licensed Doctor of Chiropractic and any licensed podiatrist. (b) The provisions …

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) ACTIVE MEMBER. Therapy dog teams who have had recorded visits at facilities including hospitals, nursing homes, libraries, and extended care facilities in the past 18 months. (2) REGISTER…